Budget won’t ease economic hardship: CPD

The proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year will not be able to play its due role in offsetting the economic hardship arriving from the coronavirus pandemic, the Centre for Policy Dialogue said in budget review.

This is not the fiscal budget to tackle the crisis stemming from the corona virus pandemic and it will not help recover the economy, according to the independent think-tank came at a virtual press briefing on Thursday.

The budget would have given a clear indication on how the health, education and other social sectors will get recovery in the next 3-4 years from the existing hardship, said Fahmida Khatun, executive director of the CPD.

The proposed budget has been prepared based on the poor projections and there have been limitations to implement the targets.

The government has kept aside Tk 10,000 crore to implement the vaccination programme in tackling the pandemic, but the volume is not adequate, Khatun said.

There is no change for the allocation of the health sector in the upcoming fiscal year.

For the outgoing fiscal year, the allocation is 0.83 of the gross domestic product (GDP), which may remain the same for the next one.

There is a requirement of ample allocation for the health sector given the ongoing pandemic, she said.

CPD further mentioned that the government has also included the pension fund for the retired government employees and the interest of the savings certificates to the SSNPs, inflating the allocation artificially.